Pat Blythe – Hello September…..music news…..and music

September…..the beginning of my favourite time of year. There’s something so crisp and refreshing…..a newness spring doesn’t possess. New jobs, new schools, new grades, new homes, new lives…..September to me has always meant “beginning”. Maybe because it’s the month of my birth, or maybe it’s all the fall colours and brightness of the air, but I always feel inspired and invigorated in the comfortable cool months of fall. Of course, all things pumpkin spice doesn’t hurt either!

Peter with Four More Indies to Watch

This week I’m going to expose you to four of the great current indie bands that reside and play in our local area. I think that they are worthy of further study, both on their pages and in person, especially if you are seeking new, interesting, and engaging music from the wealth of solid Canadian Indie Artists.

Let’s get right to the bands and their music, shall we?

Peter Goes Where Everybody Knows His Name

Well, last week was “interesting”, as I was going with Lois to various doctor’s appointments. Before a very important one, I got trapped in an elevator. (I was able to get out in time to attend the interview in question, at the end of the day, but it still distracted me from writing a column last week, for which I apologize, and promise that that will not happen again.)

Q: Are He Not Peter Montreuil? A: He Are Indie!

Thanks for the responses to last week’s column. I realize that the column was a little disjointed, or more disjointed than usual, but it was a very frightening time for me, and I had to face some demons head on, so the structure of that column accurately reflected my mental state at the time.

Peter (Beer) Barrels through CMW 2018

Armed with my “media” credentials, my guidebook and my Metropass, I took on Canadian Music Week. (Note that all of the bands/artists that I mention in this column have Facebook pages, and are well worth further study, should you feel so inclined. It was a very busy week!)

Pat Blythe – It’s March, it’s Music, it’s Mayhem…..

What in tarnation is going on with the world?! Just which planet is in retrograde this month??? We have Orange Man spewing idiocies south of the 49th; supposed Russian collusion in the White House; Samsung (one of South Korea’s largest companies and Apple’s biggest competition) working the PR (and denial) machine as their chief-cook-and-bottle-washer Lee Jae-yong is about to be indicted for bribery, embezzlement and corruption along with four more Samsung executives; a right cock-up at the Oscars; an extremely temperamental and indecisive Mother Nature here in Ontario (shorts and sandals one day, snow the next); friends falling like bowling pins to a rather nasty flu/cold bug creeping around, (and this one comes back to haunt you if you’re not careful); an accused abuser wins a Best Actor Oscar.

Nadia Elkharadly: Indie Week 2012 – That’s a wrap

It’s been a lazy Monday for me today as I recover from yet another multi-day music festival in Toronto.  This Sunday night (or Monday morning if you want to get technical) marked the end of Indie Week 2012.  It’s only the second Indie Week that I’ve attended and taken part in, but it’s rapidly becoming my favourite music festival in our fair city.

If you haven’t heard of Indie Week, you probably haven’t been walking around downtown Toronto with your eyes open; the intrepid indie week volunteer team has been diligently postering the city for weeks leading up to the launch party.